Washing and cleaning agents are known in which calcium complex binding finely divided water insoluble aluminum silicates are used for partly or completely binding calcium phosphates in complexes. Generally these aluminum silicates contain bound water and are capable of binding calcium. They may be used for washing and cleaning solid materials, in particular textiles (see Published German Patent Application DE-OS 24 12 837--cf. British Patents 1,473,201 and 1,473,202).
These aluminum silicates are compounds corresponding to the general formula I: EQU (Cat.sub.2/n O).sub.x .multidot.Me.sub.2 O.sub.3 .multidot.(SiO.sub.2).sub.y(I),
in which Cat is a cation of valency n which is replaceable by calcium, x denotes a number from 0.7 to 1.5, Me stands for aluminum and y denotes a number from 0.8 to 6, preferably from 1.3 to 4.
The cation used is preferably sodium but it may be replaced by lithium, potassium, ammonium or magnesium.
The above-defined compounds capable of binding calcium will hereinafter be referred to as "aluminum silicates" or "AS" for the sake of simplicity. This applies in particular to the sodium aluminum silicates which are preferably used; all particulars given for their use according to the invention and all particulars concerning their preparation and properties also apply correspondingly to all compounds defined above.
The aluminum silicates which are particularly suitable for use in washing and cleaning agents have a calcium binding capacity of preferably 50 to 200 mg of CaO/g for the anhydrous aluminum silicate. When reference is made hereinafter to anhydrous aluminum silicate, this term is intended to denote the state of the aluminum silicates reached after one hour's drying at 800.degree. C. In the course of this drying, the water adhering to the aluminum silicates and the bound water are removed virtually completely.
In the production of washing and cleaning agents containing the aluminum silicates defined above, in addition to the usual components of such agents, the aluminum silicates used as starting material are preferably moist, for example they may be still moist from their production process. The moist compounds are mixed with at least part of the other components of the agent to be produced and the mixture is converted into the finished washing or cleaning agent required as end product, for example a free-flowing product, by known measures such as, for example, spray drying.
For the process outlined above for the production of washing or cleaning agents, the aluminum silicates may be delivered and used in the form of, for example, an aqueous suspension. Certain improvements in the properties of the aluminum silicates dispersed in the aqueous phase, as a suspension, are desirable, e.g. in improving the stability of the suspension and the pumpability.
It is known to use alkyl phenol ethylene adducts for the formation of aluminum silicate suspensions (DE-A 26 15 698). However, owing to ecological awareness, attention is being paid increasingly to biodegradability.
It is known from Published German Patent Application DE-A 32 09 631 (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 4,486,331) to use nonyl phenol ethoxylates for the foregoing purpose. These compounds are regarded as difficultly degradable on account of their benzene ring and their branched nonyl group, and in particular they entail the risk of formation of toxic nonyl phenol as a metastable degradation product. Nonyl phenol ethoxylates have therefore not been used by the German detergent industry.
It is also known from Published German Patent Application DE-A 34 44 311 (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,887) to use isotridecyl alcohol ethoxylates for the foregoing purpose. These are branched chain alcohols having a degree of branching of at least 50% and consist of an indeterminable isomeric mixture, often with all possible forms of branching such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, etc.
It is known from Published German Patent Application DE-A 37 19 042 to use a mixture of two oxoalcohol ethoxylates corresponding to the formula R--(OCH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2).sub.n --OH, but these have the disadvantage that the viscosity of the resulting suspension at room temperature is too high at high solids concentrations.